Cormac Gordon: LeBron's moment is right now

APMiami's LeBron James talks with referee Monty McCutchen during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Heat and Thunder meet in Game 3 tonight.

It’s not in fashion, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and pick the Miami Heat to accomplish what so many people across the heartland are hoping against.

I think a championship is more than possible after Thursday’s 100-96 just-barely road win that sent the NBA Finals back to South Beach tied at 1-1 with Game 3 tonight.

I get that Oklahoma City’s Thunder are the current darlings, carrying the banner for all that is right and wholesome in America. And that the Heat are the guys from the dark side in the black hats.

Still, I believe.

Call it the contrarian in me, if you like.

But I’m thinking any team with LeBron James at his peak has a puncher’s chance.

In fact, this NBA Finals could just become the LeBron moment so many of us have been waiting for.

Forget about all the other times you thought that celestial event had arrived, only to be disappointed.

From his early days of acting the prodigy while carrying the Cavaliers to the 2007 Finals against San Antonio to last season’s disappointing play in the Heat’s championship loss to the Dallas Mavericks, people have been predicting.

They’ve been pointing to one series or the other as the potential career-defining patch of basketball for the superstar.

But those really were just auditions. 

TIME TO TAKE OVER 

They were warm-ups while James and everyone around him found the same page to work from.

Now, nine years into his pro career, perhaps they have.

If this is the time, it’s arrived out of necessity more than any intricate plan or timetable. It’s been fashioned out of crises, and the ticking of the clock that warns nothing, not even the talents of James, lasts forever.

The Heat needed James to rebound from down 2-1 to Indiana and again to overcome a 3-2 deficit to the Celtics.

To beat a Thunder team that will be harder and harder to play the longer the Heat wait, they need more of the same.

More LeBron.

The new story line is simplicity itself:

James has an opportunity in front of him for the seizing, and the rest of the Heat team needs to recognize that and join the chorus.

That’s no knock on the grit and power of Dwyane Wade, who would be the cornerstone player for plenty of successful NBA franchises.

And it’s not a slap at the necessary element Chris Bosh brings to the Heat, which was an enormous lift in the Game 2 win.

It’s not an indictment of all the film breakdowns and play charting Erik Spoelstra and the Heat staff have gone through over the last two seasons, either, looking for some elegant offensive balance or secret ingredient.

This is about evolution.

And the way the Heat have evolved so far has not been quite enough.

Not enough for a championship run last season.

And now they are tied with Kevin Durant & Co., who appear to have the upper hand.

That outlook only changes if LeBron James makes it happen.

James, the most explosive and most gifted player in the game at age 27, is the offense that works against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While other Heat players have been slowed by the length and quickness of the Thunder defense, James alone appears consistently capable of overcoming the Serge Ibakas and Thabo Sefoloshas.

James, when on a roll, has proven to be enough to counter the magnificent Durant.

The more sets the Heat can run where the three-time league MVP ends up with the ball in his hands and space on the floor, it turns out, the better their chances get of winning this championship. 

BASIC APPROACH 

Clear out for him in the post, find him room at the 3-point arc, force the opposition into anything close to one-on-one coverage along the baseline, and you have your offense.

Everything runs through LeBron every time.

It’s that basic.

Not that simple to execute, for sure.

The ball still has to move, and others still have to touch it.

But the more times LeBron James has an offensive opportunity, the higher the likelihood that the Heat beat the Thunder.

Twenty-two shot attempts each postseason game so far, and a 30.8 point per game average?

Heck, let’s get that shot figure up 30, or even more.

And 10.5 free-throw attempts may be plenty on a regular night in February, but it will take more like 15 for the rest of this series.

Miami may be an underdog in Vegas, but they have shown that they possess a genuine chance right now.

There’s a window for them.

But that window won’t be open forever.

OKC is young and improving, and clearly trending in the direction of becoming the future NBA power team.

All of that translates to this being the moment for Miami.

And for LeBron.

Both will regret this week for a long time if they allow it slip away. 